Orem’s first state football championship since 1994 may have been symbolized by one play.
Klaysen Christianson took the handoff with the Tigers holding a tenuous 6-0 lead in the third quarter of what would become a 26-0 victory over Mountain Crest in Friday’s Class 4A state title game at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
It appeared as though he was stopped about five yards short of the goal line, but what looked like most of the Orem offense seemed to push him toward what turned into a 13-yard touchdown.
“That’s what team is,” Tigers coach Jeremy Hill said. “One guy is going to get the ball. If he’s not going to get in, we’ve got 10 more to push him in.”
Christianson echoed those sentiments.
“All game our guys were pushing me in there,” he said. “It was kind of just a second effort. It was the whole team. We went an extra five yards. That got the momentum starting rolling and turned it into a showcase.”
If there was a showcase in this one, though, it probably was on the defensive side.
In recording the first state football championship shutout since South Summit blanked Beaver in 2015, Orem grabbed three interceptions, earned two quarterback sacks and recovered one of two Mountain Crest fumbles. The Tigers held their foe to just 137 yards of total offense.
“We have a bunch of no names for the most part,” Hill said about his defense. “We have some little guys who are fast and run around. They are just so tough. I think we confused them a little bit.”
Billy Tenney had a particularly good game for the Tigers. He recorded three solo tackles, six assisted tackles and had two sacks for 16 yards in losses.
“We just knew it was a really big game,” he said. “Our defense showed up, so we had to hold them to a goose egg. This is the best our defense has played all year.”
Mountain Crest coach Jason Lee said his team could not overcome its turnovers.
“If you turn the ball over, you are not going to win the ballgame,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether it is the state championship or any other game. If you turn the ball over, you will not win. And we didn’t get any turnovers from them.”
Even at 12-0, Mountain Crest seemed very much in the game. But a fourth-quarter rally was snuffed with 11:15 left in the game when Orem star receiver Puka Nacua hauled in a 13-yard touchdown pass from Cooper Legas. And Legas put the capper on with a 5-yard run.
“I’m just happy,” Hill said. “They have done everything I asked for. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of kids. They have bought into the vision.”
Orem QB Cooper Legas on winning the state title. #TribPreps pic.twitter.com/7hD1PtUars
— Trib Preps (@TribPrepsEd) November 17, 2017
OREM 26, MOUNTAIN CREST 0 <br>• Orem forces three intercepted passes, recovers one of two fumbles and gets two sacks from Billy Tenney to shut out Mountain Crest. <br>• This was the Tigers’ first state title since 1994. <br>• Orem kicker Canyon Esplin boots two first-half field goals and quarterback Cooper Legas runs for a score and throws for another.